The illumination soul tools lit up the entire capital, their radiant glow making the city's outline visible from far away.
"Stay sharp, everyone. We can see the capital now. Once we get into the city, we can finally rest."
On a road outside the capital, a merchant caravan maintained a tight formation. The leader, a tall man, let out a slight sigh of relief upon seeing the city's lights.
Although soul tools were advanced in the Sun Moon Empire, flying soul tools required a certain level of soul power to operate. Without sufficient soul power, they couldn't lift a person into the air.
The cultivation of this group was clearly not high, and they had spent considerable time on the road. Now, nearing the capital, they decided to press on through the night to enter the city.
The others behind the man let out long sighs of relief. The wilderness was unsafe, and they had been on edge throughout the journey. Seeing the capital meant they could finally relax a bit.
However, just as the man finished speaking, a glint of something caught his peripheral vision. In an instant, a bloody hole appeared on the forehead of one of his companions, who collapsed lifelessly.
Whoosh—
Only then did a piercing screech echo in their ears.
"Enemy attack! Form up!"
The man roared, raising a massive shield that covered his entire body.
The others, clearly well-coordinated, quickly pressed back-to-back behind him, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
Unfortunately, their tactics were effective against opponents of similar strength, but the attacker's cultivation far surpassed theirs.
From the shadows on both sides, several figures darted out like specters, landing with only a faint stir of dust, revealing the agility of highly skilled agility-attack soul masters.
"Captain…"
The faces of those behind the man were grim. They had sensed the attackers' superior cultivation, making escape unlikely.
"Don't panic. We're close to the capital. If we can hold out for a bit, help will come soon."
The captain spoke to reassure the others, but inwardly, he wasn't as calm as he appeared. While they were indeed near the capital, the fact that the attackers chose to strike here suggested they were well-prepared.
A black shadow flashed past. The captain swung his shield forward, and behind him, a soul guidance cannon's beam shot out, grazing the shield's edge as if they had rehearsed it countless times.
This was their well-practiced tactic, designed to catch even strong opponents off guard.
But when the captain lowered his shield, the black shadow was nowhere to be seen.
Heh—
A mocking chuckle sounded in his ear, and another person behind him collapsed instantly.
Inside the capital, the illumination soul tools along the roads stretched Lin Xiao's shadow long. Gazing at the darkness beyond the city, he sighed softly and stepped toward the black expanse.
Moments later, he had changed into a new outfit. A black cloak concealed him, blending his figure perfectly into the night.
With a light tap of his foot, Lin Xiao glided forward like a bat, his form faintly flickering as he released a shadowy silhouette.
Searching aimlessly like this, Lin Xiao held little hope of finding anything. Instead, he took the opportunity to release the soul he controlled, practicing his mastery over it while also training his spiritual power.
The surrounding flora and fauna appeared in his mind from an entirely different perspective, as if he were in two places at once. The first time he controlled the assassin's soul, Lin Xiao had struggled to adapt, but now he was accustomed to this strange viewpoint and to observing his own actions from another angle.
The darkness couldn't block the soul's "vision." As Lin Xiao passed through the area where the soul had been, he suddenly paused.
A strange sensation rose in his heart, as if something was calling from afar. It wasn't his own feeling but something transmitted from the controlled soul.
His eyes shifted, and Lin Xiao instantly changed direction.
Splurch—
The sound of something piercing flesh rang out, followed by an arm flying high, warm blood splattering everywhere.
Several corpses lay strewn across the ground, with black shadows weaving among them.
"Brother, didn't the boss tell us to keep a low profile for now?"
"Hmph, what's there to fear?"
One figure was rummaging through the fallen captain's body, his fingers brushing against something that brought a flash of joy to his face.
"The boss led us to intercept that shipment, but he won't make a move himself. Things in the capital are so expensive—did we come all this way just to starve?"
As he spoke, he stood up, tossing the object in his hand before catching it again. In the faint light, it was barely discernible as a storage soul tool.
"Don't worry. This group isn't strong and doesn't have any big backing. Besides, the boss just got a haul of good stuff—he won't care about these small gains."
"Quick, clean up these bodies before anyone from the capital notices."
"Yes." The others responded, their soul tools swinging again, dismembering a corpse into pieces.
"Evil soul masters have committed so many atrocities—what's one more?"
The man glanced toward the distant capital. "Alright, time's up. Let's go!"
"Yes."
With a few faint gusts of wind, the figures vanished, leaving behind scattered limbs and a pool of blood.
When Lin Xiao arrived, guided by the faint call, all he saw were several dissipating residual souls.
He roughly understood that the strange sensation earlier must have come from the assassin's soul detecting these residual souls, drawn to them.
With a single glance, Lin Xiao already knew what had happened here.
He extended a hand, and the Higanbana Flower appeared in his palm. The aimless residual souls, as if finding their destination, surged toward him.
Looking down, even through the soul's perspective, the blood-soaked ground was jarring. Examining the scattered corpses closely, Lin Xiao could guess who was responsible.
Though the scene appeared gruesome, it was still different from the work of true evil soul masters.
For evil soul masters, destroying corpses served a purpose—whether for blood, flesh, or souls.
But rarely would someone, like here, kill their targets in one strike only to deliberately mutilate the bodies afterward. No wonder Nightmare Douluo had remarked that they were wasting the corpses.